Aaron Johnston will miss next week’s Rally Chile, with the Irishman’s recovery from his and Takamoto Katsuta’s high-speed Paraguay crash taking longer than expected due to a fractured collarbone.
Fellow Toyota Gazoo Racing co-driver James Fulton will step in alongside Katsuta for the second of two South American WRC rounds.
Johnston told DirtFish: “Obviously, with Paraguay and Chile being a double-header it leaves very little time to recover and, unfortunately, it’s just going to be the case that I have to miss Chile because of this. In a normal situation, where you had a couple of weeks between events, I think it would’ve been a different story, but it’s just the timing and the way it worked out.
“Of course, I would be the last person who would want to miss an event and if there was any possibility I would be there and I would be determined, like I always am, to do the best job I can. But this time, it’s just not possible.
“The treatment I’ve received here at home has been world-class and, while it’s early days, I’m confident I’ll be back in the car as soon as possible.”
It's been a rollercoaster season for Katsuta and Johnston, who took a breakthrough WRC win in Kenya
Talking about the accident itself, Johnston added: “It happened pretty fast, with a left-right combination. We were on two wheels for a considerable amount of time and Taka tried to balance the car, to bring it back down to four wheels, but with the speed and with the direction the road was going, it just wasn’t possible.
“We hit the concrete telegraph pole and came back down and hit the road. It’s very hard to say what was the biggest impact, but both of them were quite harsh, both the telegraph pole and hitting the ground from a considerable height. It was a nasty accident.”
The two-time world rally winner was quick to pay tribute to both the Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 and Hyundai crew Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe who were first on the scene.
“It was an accident that Taka and myself walked away from unaided,” he said. “Firstly, to Toyota, I want to say a massive thank you for building such a strong car and allowing us to walk away and secondly to Thierry and Martijn for the time they took and the care they took with both Taka on myself in the moments after the accident.
Fulton has already worked with Katsuta, testing the Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 alongside the Japanese
“For me now, it’s going to be strange to watch Chile from home. I’ll be following it very closely on the results and through all the Toyota chats – and, of course, I’ll be on the end of the phone should James or Taka need me.”
Fulton is already part of the Toyota family, co-driving for Yuki Yamamoto as part of the Toyota Challenge Program.
“James is not only one of my best friends in the service park,” said Johnston, “but one of my best friends at home. For James to cover for me and step into the car under these circumstances, I’m very happy. James is a world-class co-driver, he’s been on the podium before with Craig [Breen] and he’ll do a superb job for Taka and for Toyota – he’ll do himself and me proud stepping into my seat.”
Fulton’s seat alongside Yuki Yamamoto will be taken by Seth Quintero’s co-driver Topi Luhtinen in Chile.
Fulton, who has worked on Katsuta’s gravel notes and tested with the Japanese before, said: “It’s nice to be in a Rally1 car, but I’m just helping a mate out here.”
